Box Score Photo Gallery
DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (26-9, 14-5 GLIAC) won its 10th consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon, 6-3, over Findlay (9-21, 6-14 GLIAC). The Warriors scored in three of the first four innings and added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the victory.
The Green & Gold took a 1-0 lead with a run on a groundball double play off the bat of
Kyle Zimmerman (Frankfort, Mich.) in the bottom of the first inning.
Cole Clifton (Sterling Heights. Mich. / De La Salle) and
Eric Cunningham (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova) both collected RBI in the bottom of the second inning to extend the Warriors' lead to 3-0.
The Oilers touched up freshman starter
Chris Horvath (Windsor, Ont. / St. Anne Catholic) (3-2) in the top of the third inning for two runs to pull within a run. In his last start, Horvath took a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth inning when these two teams met on April 9 in Findlay, Ohio.
Clifton collect his first collegiate home run, of the inside-the-park variety, in the bottom of the fourth inning after Findlay's centerfielder was injured after hitting the wall on a
valiant attempt to track down a fly ball.
Findlay trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with a run on a groundball double play in the top of the fifth inning.
Horvath was replaced by
Jake Davis (Rochester, Mich. / Stoney Creek) in the top of the seventh inning. Davis was replaced by
Clayton Ruch (Pemberville, Ohio / Eastwood) in the top of the eighth inning after loading the bases. Ruch put out the fire inducing a lineout and a groundout to strand all three runners.
Cunningham drove in his 38th and 39th runs of the season with a two-run single to right center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to give WSU a 6-3 advantage.
Ruch set down the Oilers in order in the top of the ninth inning for his 12th save of the season. Ruch now holds both the program's career save record (22) and single-season record, which was 11 held by Billy Hurley (2010-12).
Horvath went six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and striking out three batters.
WSU will host the Ohio Dominican on Thursday at 3 PM before finishing up the series against the Panthers with a doubleheader on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
